Join us for an evening with a panel of distinguished women journalists who’ve covered wars and conflicts around the globe. They’ll share their personal experiences and discuss the challenges and risks they’ve faced as war correspondents.

Gina Chon, Wall Street Journal Reporter
— Baghdad-based Iraq correspondent for the Journal from 2007-2009.
— Served as an editor and trainer in Iraq for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting and trained Iraqi journalists to help build an independent media in Iraq.
— Co-author of “Behind the Killing Fields,” based on interviews with the top surviving Khmer Rouge leader and the experiences of her Cambodian co-author, a victim of the Khmer Rouge regime.

Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press Chief U.N. Correspondent
— Began her career as a foreign correspondent in 1972, becoming the first woman assigned full-time to the AP staff reporting on the Vietnam War.
— During a 44-year career with The AP, has worked on every continent except Antarctica covering wars, famines, nuclear issues and political upheavals.
— Awards include the University of Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism, the United Nations Correspondents Association’s Silver Medal, and the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Cami McCormick, CBS News Correspondent
— Joined CBS in 1998 and served nine tours embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq between 2003 and 2009. Covered the trial of Saddam Hussein.
— Seriously injured in August 2009 while on assignment for CBS when a vehicle carrying her and several U.S. Army members was hit by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. One U.S. soldier was killed in the attack.
— Previously worked for CNN. Developed, anchored and produced CNNRadio’s first international newscast.
— Awards include six Edward R. Murrow awards, three AWRT Gracie Allen Awards and two Associated Press Awards.

Thought about attending a No Agenda Tuesday networking mixer, but never quite got there?

It’s time to show your lovely mug and give us the gift of your presence at the next No Agenda Tuesday on Aug. 17. What do we love about these events?

1. Bitch & Swap: It’s a let-your-hair-down mixer of women in the industry with no particular agenda except to talk about what’s happening in the media, vent, boast and swap gossip.

2. Professional Confessional: Find out who’s going where, who’s left and gone over to the dark side, who’s joining the world’s oldest profession. (Why, we meant journalism of course!)

3. Rubbing Elbows: Meet editors and publishers you wouldn’t otherwise hear from over email, connect with agents and other writers, hear about upcoming panels, prizes and networking events…See you there!

About 50 members and nonmembers turned out for what was a lively and informative discussion at New York City Seminar and Conference Center July 20.

If you couldn’t make the session, here are some excerpts of what you missed.

Coen — On traffic: “I’m looking at analytics all day to make sure the day is going well. They’re kind of obsessed about it at Gawker.”On abusive commenters: “They got invited to our party, they’re going to play by our rules.”On writing/style: “You have to be conversational, succinct. You have to have a voice. You have to write bigger. You have to take it up a notch. Most people aren’t going to read more than 200 to 300 words per post.”

Crawford–On snark: “You can get enough snark coming from the comments.”On feeding the beast: “You have to be really passionate about it. [Otherwise], you can’t sustain it.”More on feeding the beast: “While I can’t be ace-girl reporter, I can bring in a leader…A lot of times, I am very fyi…”On transitioning from blogger to journalist: “My blog has been a journalism 101 course for me.”On liability: “We’re not worth suing is a big part of our defense.”

Newman —On keywords: Before writing anything for the Web, think about the main keyword(s) for your post or article.More on keywords: Use GoogleAdwords Keyword Tool to help you decide on the best keyword(s). Make sure your keyword is in your headline.On SEO boosters: When linking, link on keywords, not on such phrases as “click here.” You’ll get more credit from search engines for linking relevant content, which will help your ranking for those keywords.On tracking site usage: Use Google Analytics, Google’s free traffic analysis tool. It requires registering your site and inserting a small line of code on your blog or, for a Web site, on every page that needs tracking.More on SEO: Find great SEO tips for writers on her blog and you can sign up for her newsletter.

How do you feel about snark? What ideas from the panel resound most with you? Please share your thoughts with other members and comment. Let’s continue the discussion here.